Caldwell v. People of California
Update: The gag order was vacated by the trial court on Oct. 22, 2020, at the request of LA District Attorney Jackie Lacey’s office.
Court: California’s Second District Court of Appeal
About the case: A Los Angeles County Superior Court judge in March issued a sweeping protective order, known as a gag order, preventing Darrell Caldwell, a rapper who performs as Drakeo the Ruler, his attorney and the government from commenting “on anything regarding this case until after verdicts are reached.” Caldwell was previously tried for and acquitted of murder charges. Prosecutors filed new gang conspiracy and weapons charges against Caldwell and pursued the gag order, which included a demand he remove past social media posts, such as one that reads, “I have been in jail for 26 months for something I did not do.”
While the gag order does not purport to gag the press, the impact is not limited to the trial participants, attorneys wrote in the brief. The First Amendment rights of the press and public are also implicated, because the gag order inhibits newsgathering and deprives the public of information about the criminal case.
Our Position: The Second District Court of Appeal should order the trial court to vacate the gag order
From the Brief: “The Gag Order places broad, unconstitutional restrictions on the speech of Petitioner, his counsel, and the government. They have impeded – and will continue to impede – the ability of journalists to report on Petitioner’s criminal prosecution.”
FAC, the RCFP and the LA Times were represented in the amicus brief by the Press Freedom and Transparency practice of the UC Irvine School of Law Intellectual Property, Arts and Technology Clinic. The brief’s lead author, Susan Seager, head of the practice, was joined by law students Esther Lim and Savannah Levin, along with Clinic Director Jack Lerner.
Date Filed: October 20, 2020